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Monarchs looking for a new GM

The Philadelphia Flyers announced Monday Hextall has been named assistant general manager and director of hockey operations. He will work under General Manager Paul Holmgren.

The 49-year-old Hextall served seven years with the Los Angeles Kings as vice president/assistant general manager.

He was the also the general manager of the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the Kings’ primary affiliate. Hextall helped the Monarchs to an overall record of 290-205-24-32 in seven seasons and an appearance in the Calder Cup playoffs in each season, including twice in the Eastern Conference finals.

Hextall was a solid and popular goaltender for the Flyers, playing a total of 11 seasons over two stints in Philadelphia. As a rookie in the 1986-87 season, he won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie and led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers. He was a Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoffs’ most valuable player that season. He is a member of the Flyers’ Hockey Hall of Fame.

“I hate to see Ron go, but I can understand why he’d want to be in Philadelphia,” said Hubie McDonough, director of hockey operations for the Manchester Monarchs.

“Ron is a very intelligent hockey man,” said McDonough, who worked with Hextall for seven years. “When it came down to making hockey decisions, he was calm, never jumped the gun. He was very methodical in his moves, always seemed to know what type of player we needed to fill a void.”

McDonough also said Hextall’s name recognition didn’t hurt him.

“He commanded respect right away because everyone in hockey knows him,” said McDonough. “He was a very strong-willed, competitive player and that trait carried over to his management skills. He handled his job as a professional.”

McDonough said Hextall’s departure will impact the Monarchs until the Kings name his replacement.

“After each game we’d send in our reports to Ron,” said McDonough. “He wasn’t overbearing. He’d let us do our jobs. Once a month, he’d come to a game, home or away, to watch the team play. If we had questions about a player, he’d get back to us immediately.”

McDonough said part of Hextall’s responsibility in Los Angeles was on the business side. “He’d work with the office staff, keeping track of ticket sales and working with many community projects dealing with charity. So he had a full plate.”

Dean Lombardi, president and general manager of the Kings, will be in charge of naming Hextall’s replacement.

“Dean knows a lot of people in the hockey world,” said McDonough. “I don’t know who will replace Ron, but it could be in-house or it could be outside the organization. I know one thing: Dean does his homework and he’ll find a quality person to fill that job.”